I have decided to take all of the "unanswered" questions that propagate the 9/11 conspiracy theories and. . .well, give the answers that have been repeated ad nauseum since the attacks occurred. If ever a conspiracy nutter gives you a long and intimidating list titled with big, red capital letters "QUESTIONS ABOUT 9/11 THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN ANSWERED," point them to this topic; odds are, the questions listed have been answered. Repeatedly.
Want to add an answer that isn't here? Tell me. I only have 15 for now, but I'll update as time goes by.
1.Question: Why were explosions heard in the Twin Towers?
Answer: The Towers did not exist in a vacuum. High-voltage electrical equipment, steel beams, concrete floors crashing onto another; all of these create explosions and their corresponding noises. The sound of an explosion does not mean a bomb was the source of that explosion, especially in a place such as the Towers.
2.Question: Why did Silverstein say "Pull it," jargon known for use in demolitions, before the Towers fell?
Answer: It is true that the words "pull it" escaped the lips of Silverstein before the Towers collapsed, but this quote is taken severely out of context. Here is what was actually said by Silverstein: "I remember getting a call from the Fire Department commander, telling me they were not sure they were gonna be able to contain the fire, and I said, you know, 'We've had such terrible loss of life, maybe the smartest thing to do is just pull it.' And they made that decision to pull and then we watched the building collapse."
Silverstein's spokesperson later clarified: "In the afternoon of September 11, Mr. Silverstein spoke to the Fire Department Commander on site at Seven World Trade Center. The Commander told Mr. Silverstein that there were several firefighters in the building working to contain the fires. Mr. Silverstein expressed his view that the most important thing was to protect the safety of those firefighters, including, if necessary, to have them withdraw from the building."
Silverstein's "pull it" quote was talking about "pulling" the firefighters from the buildings to safety; NOT demolishing the buildings themselves. The quote is ridiculously out of context.
3.Question: Why was no plane wreckage found at the Pentagon?
Answer: There was plenty of wreckage found at the Pentagon. In addition to the wreckage, there are dozens of eyewitness accounts from people working in the Pentagon that day of a large airplane hitting the building.
4.Why was Dick Cheney put in charge of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) the very week of the attacks?
Answer: He wasn't. While he was in charge of overseeing the Office of National Preparedness, an office created by President Bush on protecting America against Weapons of Mass Destruction (not terrorism), this does not even imply that he was involved with everything they did (kinda like how the Vice President oversees the Senate but isn't in charge of what they do or how they work). In addition, there is nothing in the President's order that grants Cheney command of NORAD.
5.Question: Why is Bin Laden no longer on the FBI's most wanted list if he caused 9/11?
Answer: Bin Laden is still one of the world's most wanted terrorists according to the FBI.
6.Question: Why was Thermite found at Ground Zero?
Answer: The amount of Thermite found was enough to burn a hole into the engine of a small car. In order to have any impact whatsoever on the Towers, the amount of Thermite (which, incidentally, does not explode) required would be about 60 tons. The stuff would have to be stored somewhere and used in the span of a few days without knocking down the Towers before the opportune moment; an impossibility.
7.Question: Why has the government never reported on the collapse of WTC Building 7?
Answer: They have.
8.Question: Why did the Towers fall even though nothing like that has ever happened before?
Answer: Another thing that had never happened before was a 767 Airliner being flown into a building at 500 miles an hour.
9.Question: Why did WTC 7 collapse even though it wasn't hit and was barely damaged?
Answer: WTC 7 was on fire. Fire weakens metal. The weakening of a single support column in WTC 7 would have caused its collapse. This is congruent with the NIST findings mentioned before. In addition, the tower was not "barely damaged;" this claim hinges on FEMA's preliminary report. After more research was done, NIST concluded that WTC 7 was more damaged than originally thought.
10.Question: Jet fuel can't burn hot enough to melt steel, so why was molten steel found at the site?
Answer: The "molten steel" found was actually molten aluminum from the aircraft. In addition, steel wouldn't have to melt to drop the towers; only weakened.
11.Question: Why did the Towers fall at freefall speed?
Answer: The fall time of the towers is unknowable, but what data we have from physics and research heavily suggests that the towers did not fall at freefall speed.
12.Question: Why won't the FBI release any videos of the attacks?
Answer: The FBI never, EVER releases any pictures, videos or documents related to a federal crime investigation. This is standard procedure even for small-town police departments, and is not implicative of foul play.
13.Question: Why are the holes from the plane crashes at the Pentagon too small for a plane to create?
Answer: Because the entire plane didn't create the holes.
14.Question: Why did some of the windows at the Pentagon remain intact after the crash?
Answer: Because they were designed to; they're blast resistant.
15.Question: How did the highjackers get money for their operations?
Answer: Al Qaeda is vastly funded by independent donors and corrupt charities. In addition, the hijackers received money from wire transfers, cash and traveler's checks, and credit or debit cards for overseas bank accounts. Most of the funds were sent by Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
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